Hospital Overcrowding must end in Windsor and Essex County

QUEEN'S PARK – On Tuesday, Windsor West NDP MPP Lisa Gretzky issued the following statement following the ringing of alarm bells over hospital overcrowding at Windsor Regional Hospital.

“Hospital overcrowding is all too familiar to the people of Windsor and Essex County. New Democrats have long called on Kathleen Wynne to fix the problem of hospital gridlock and hallway medicine. It is time for a premier in Ontario that will make improving health care for Windsor families a priority.

But she let us down again. In the first month 2018, the situation is getting worse – and the crisis could deepen with the onset of flu season. When hospitals like the Ouellette and MET campuses of Windsor Regional Hospital are consistently at or above 100 per cent capacity for weeks on end, resources are stretched and caregivers are pushed to the breaking point.

It doesn’t have to be this way. On June 7, people in Windsor can chose to elect a new premier who will make health care a priority. Patrick Brown is not the answer. He has shown that he will carry on the Conservative tradition of cutting public services. His platform includes another $6.1 billion in cuts to jobs and services we all count on.

New Democrats will properly fund hospitals in Windsor, and throughout the south-west. We will put an end to the Liberal health care cuts that led to the constant state of hospital bed gridlock across the province. When families bring a loved one to the hospital in their time of need, they should never be stuck waiting for care on a stretcher in the ER hallway.”